Zinc is present in high concentrations in the prostate and in prostatic secretions, but the physiological roles of this metal have not been unequivocally delineated. Although zinc is known to form complexes with a wide variety of natural and synthetic materials, little is known about the in vivo chemical status of zinc in the prostate and in semen. This is an important and often overlooked property of zinc that may lead to inaccurate experimental interpretation of in vitro experiments if a nonphysiological form of zinc is utilized. The applicant proposes to purify and characterize the zinc binding ligands present in human seminal plasma and prostate and to determine if zinc binding ligands are present in human expressed prostatic secretions. The zinc binding ligands of the canine prostate and of pilocarpine stimulated canine prostatic secretions will also be purified, characterized and compared to those derived from human sources. A method of quantitation of the zinc binding ligands obtained from human sources will be developed. Seminal plasma and prostatic tissue levels of the zinc binding ligands will be correlated with bacterial prostatitis, prostatic cancer and benign prostatic hypertrophy. Finally, the zinc-zinc binding ligand complexes will be tested for antibacterial activity and for effects on enzymes known to be effected by zinc.